Sunday marks 2 years since theater massacre

Things to know on 2nd anniversary of the Colorado theater massacre

By DAN ELLIOTT Associated Press

Posted on July 19, 2014 at 12:00 a.m.
| Updated on July 19, 2014 at 1:41 p.m.

DENVER (AP) — On July 20, 2012, a man wearing police-style armor killed 12 people and injured 70 during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in the Denver suburb of Aurora. James Holmes, a former neuroscience graduate student, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings. His attorneys say he was gripped by a psychotic episode. Here are things to know on the second anniversary Sunday:

—THE TRIAL: Now scheduled to start Dec. 8 after three postponements. The first was when prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty; the second, when prosecutors asked for a second state sanity evaluation of Holmes; the third, when a doctor doing that exam asked for more time.

—OUTCOMES: If found guilty, Holmes could face the death penalty. If found not guilty by reason of insanity, he would be committed indefinitely to the state mental hospital.

—HOLMES: The 26-year-old sits quietly in shackles during hearings and stares straight ahead. He no longer has the vacant, wide-eyed stare of his first hearings. Whether he could tell right from wrong in the shooting — the key finding of the first sanity exam — wasn’t released. But the judge agreed with prosecutors that the doctor was biased and ordered a second exam that’s due Oct. 15.

—SURVIVORS: Tom Teves, of Phoenix, lost his son, Alex, 24. He’s frustrated by the slow progress. “That individual (Holmes) has a multitude more rights than any of the victims,” he says. “I think it’s (the grief) like carrying around a big weight. You get stronger carrying it around, but it never gets lighter.” Tom Sullivan, of Aurora, lost his son, also named Alex, 27. Sunday is Alex’s birthday. “There are still a lot of people out there who are hurting,” Tom Sullivan said.

—THE THEATER: The former Century 16 was renovated and renamed the Century Aurora. It opened its doors to victims of the attack in January 2013 with a remembrance and a special showing of “The Hobbit.” Theater 9 is now an XD theater with a wall-to-wall screen.

—THE ANNIVERSARY: This year’s commemoration is lower key. Aurora Strong Resilience Center, set up to help residents deal with trauma, holds events on coping and will hold a Day of Remembrance. The Potter’s House church across the border in Denver will dedicate a stand of trees in honor of the dead.